We are a grass roots organization located in both Israel and the United States. Our intention is to be pro-active on behalf of Israel. This means we will identify the topics that need examination, analysis and promotion. Our intention is to write accurately what is going on here in Israel rather than react to the anti-Israel media pieces that comprise most of today's media outlets.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Ramallah – Ma'an – A high-ranking Palestinian official told Agence France Presse on Friday evening that the Saudi security arrested former commander of the Palestinian police Major-General Ghazi Al-Jabali.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Al-Jabali arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday with Head of the Hamas Politburo Khaled Mashal.

Al-Jabali was wanted by the Palestinian Authority, which requested he was arrested by Interpol on charges of financial corruption.

Comment: This is dangerous move-do not be fooled by the headline-read carefully.

Boutros Hard tell Reuters next president must find ways to integrate Hizbullah into army Lebanon's next president must find a way to integrate Hizbullah guerrillas into the army and set ties with Syria on a new footing after the "black decades" of the past, presidential hopeful Boutros Harb said on Friday.

Hizbullah's arsenal is a divisive issue in Lebanon, where rival political camps are trying to agree on who should replace pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud when his term ends on Nov. 23.

Harb, one of two Maronite Christian candidates endorsed by the anti-Syrian majority bloc, told Reuters Lebanon could not continue with a Hizbullah "mini-state inside the state".

The Shi'ite group, which is backed by Syria and Iran, has sworn to use its weapons only against Israel.

Harb said a priority for any new president -- who must be a Maronite in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system -- should be to reconvene a national dialogue to discuss how Hizbullah's military power could be brought under state control so that only the government could decide on matters of war and peace.

"Whenever we have a state and government ready to fight for the country's independence, at that moment Hizbullah will not have a pretext to continue having their arms and we'll invite them to be part of the institutions of the state," he added.

Sunni, Druze and Christian factions which command a slim majority in parliament say Hizbullah dragged Lebanon into an unwanted conflict last year by seizing two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid to trade for Lebanese held in Israel.

Mistrust between Lebanon's rival camps deepened after the war when Hizbullah accused its Lebanese critics of colluding with Israel's US-backed effort to crush the guerrillas.

Hizbullah, the only Lebanese faction permitted to retain its arms after the 1975-90 civil war, says it needs them to liberate the disputed Shebaa Farms border area and to deter Israel, which withdrew from the south in 2000, from attacking Lebanon again.

But the Islamist group has declared it will not keep its weapons forever and is willing to discuss their future in the context of a national defence strategy for Lebanon.

Hamstrung armyHarb said the army should be trained, equipped and prepared to defend Lebanon, arguing that it had been unable to function properly during Syria's 29-year military presence, when Damascus called all the shots, including choosing the president.

"The situation now in Lebanon is the result of what happened in the black decades that we had," he said of the era that ended when Syrian troops left in 2005 amid an outcry over the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

"Now it's over, it's finished. Now we are asking that the Lebanese people and parliamentarians choose their president and do not accept any interference."

Lebanon's 128-seat parliament is due to meet on Oct. 23 to elect a president after an abortive attempt on Sept. 25.

That failure occurred barely a week after a car bomb killed of MP Antoine Ghanem, the seventh anti-Syrian figure to be slain in Lebanon since Hariri's assassination.

Damascus denies any hand in the killings. A U.N.-led special tribunal is being set up to try anyone who may be indicted.

Harb, a 63-year-old lawyer, said Lebanese-Syrian relations must be recalibrated, with neither country meddling in the other. Ambassadors should be exchanged and borders delineated and controlled to stop flows of illegal arms and terrorists.

"We are asking Syria to respect our sovereignty and we will respect theirs," he said.

Lebanon, often used in the past as a proxy battleground for regional conflicts, wanted no part in any external axis, Harb declared. "We are fed up with this, we paid a very high price and we don't want to continue this in the future."

Harb, in parliament since 1972 with only one four-year break, said Lebanon faced the task of rebuilding the state "from zero" and needed an extraordinary person as president.

Asked why he felt qualified, he said: "I'm stubborn and I believe in my country and in the Lebanese. And I want to ensure the new generation will not suffer like we suffered."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is moving boldly down the rabbit hole . Next week, Rice is due back in the Middle East for meetings in Jerusalem and Ramallah. The purpose of her upcoming visit, like her previous ones, will be to pressure the Olmert government and the Fatah terror organization to reach "substantive agreements" that she'll be able to present to the world at her peace summit in Maryland next month.

It is far from clear what American interests Rice is advancing with her unswerving effort to reach a peace accord between Israel and Fatah. Indeed, Rice's efforts are detrimental to US interests in the region.

On Tuesday, 77 senators signed a letter to Rice regarding her plans for the summit. Among other things, the senators called on the Arab states, which Rice hopes will participate, to "recognize Israel's right to exist and not use such recognition as a bargaining chip for future Israeli concessions."

The senators' warning was well placed. Far from cooperating with the US, the Arab world is undercutting its policies. Not only are the Arabs - including Egypt and Jordan - distancing themselves from Israel; in a direct slap at the US, the Arabs are subverting the US's goal of isolating Hamas. Rather than blackball the jihadist movement, the Arab states led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia are devoting themselves to bringing about a rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas.

Unfortunately, due to Rice's missteps, the US today has little influence over the Arab states. Washington's primary diplomatic leverage over the Arabs stems from its ability to confer legitimacy on them. The US could have used this leverage if it had stated from the outset that it would only invite states to the Middle East conference that support the US's goals of isolating Hamas and accepting Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.

But rather than condition their invitation, Rice and President George W. Bush made it clear from the outset that they want Arab states to participate in the summit. In so doing, the US turned the turned the tables on itself. Now it is the Arabs who by accepting or rejecting the US offer will confer legitimacy on Washington. Needless to say, in the interests of securing their participation, states like Saudi Arabia and Egypt will not be called to task for their sponsorship of Hamas or their hostility toward Israel.

So the US has been weakened just by organizing the conference. Yet, if there were any chance that the conference next month in Annapolis could yield real progress toward peace, then at least the Arabs' humiliation of Washington could be said to have been worth it.

Given that since the failed Camp David summit in 2000 the Palestinians have yet to make one substantive concession to Israel, it is clear that the only way the upcoming conference can succeed in advancing peace is if the Palestinians make some dramatic concession to Israel.

But there is absolutely no chance that the Palestinians will be forthcoming. Fatah Chairman Mahmoud Abbas led Fatah to electoral defeat to Hamas in 2006 and to surrender in Gaza in June. The only reason that Abbas remains in power in Judea and Samaria is because the IDF is maintaining security there.

The weak, ineffectual Abbas has no ability to agree to Israeli offers that Yasser Arafat rejected. In addition to Arafat's legacy, Abbas has Hamas to contend with. Any major concessions to Israel would imperil his rule - and his life.

Over the past week, Abbas announced his adherence to maximal Palestinian demands from Israel. These include the full transfer of sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the Palestinians; the complete surrender of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinians; and an Israeli acceptance of the so-called "right of return" that would force Israel to accept millions of foreign Arabs as immigrants within its truncated borders. Abbas's stances are a reflection of his inability to make any concessions for peace.

The failure of Rice's summit will directly benefit Hamas, which will be able to say that as it had warned, diplomacy is pointless. Understanding this, Abbas himself has let it be known that he is negotiating with Hamas. Then too, ahead of his meeting this past Wednesday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Abbas dispatched his representatives to threaten Israel with war.

On Tuesday, Abbas confidante and representative in negotiations with Hamas Azzam al-Ahmed told reporters, "If we don't prepare well for the conference so that it will result in something positive, the repercussions will be more dangerous than what happened after the failure of Camp David."

Hamas is not the only actor that will be strengthened by the failure of the summit. Anti-American, jihadist forces throughout the Arab world will similarly benefit. Like Hamas, they will be able to say, "We told you so." America's humiliation will also weaken liberal democratic voices in the Arab world. With America perceived as weak and incompetent, they will feel compelled to join the anti-American bandwagon.

RICE IS dragging Israel with her in her madcap descent down the diplomatic rabbit hole - and not for the first time. Rice has a record of forcing Israel to sacrifice its security in the interest of her "peace" processes.

In November 2005, Rice coerced then-prime minister Ariel Sharon into accepting her agreement on the passages joining Gaza to Egypt and Israel. That agreement denied Israel the ability to prevent terrorists and arms from being smuggled into Gaza. This week's Egyptian agreement to allow some 90 Hamas terrorists - many of whom underwent military training in Iran and Syria - to enter Gaza was easily implemented in spite of Israeli objections in large part as a consequence of Rice's heavy-handed treatment of Israel.

So too, Rice forced Israel to agree to have US Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton train and arm Fatah forces in Gaza. That disastrous plan led to the indirect US arming of Hamas when Fatah forces surrendered their weapons to Hamas without a fight in June. And of course, Rice was the architect of the cease-fire with Hizbullah last year that has enabled the Iranian terror group to rearm and to reassert its control over south Lebanon.

ALTHOUGH THE content of the talks is officially secret, various leaks make the depth of Israeli concessions clear. Israel is agreeing to transfer sovereignty over Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem to the Palestinians and to renounce its sovereignty over the Temple Mount; Olmert and his colleagues have agreed to surrender more than 90 percent of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinians while destroying most of the Israeli communities there; and Israel is agreeing to certain "symbolic" concessions regarding the so-called "right of return."

In short, Olmert is regurgitating former prime minister and current Defense Minister Ehud Barak's offers to Arafat at Camp David and Taba from seven years ago.

Many on the Left argue that since Israel offered these concessions in the past, the fact that the government is returning them to the bargaining table today is nothing to get excited about. This is untrue.

There is a huge difference between the situation in 2000 and today. Seven years ago, Barak's offer of territory was based on the expectation that in exchange for territory the Palestinians would eschew terror and live at peace with Israel. Today, after seven years of war that was largely directed by Fatah, after Hamas's takeover of Gaza and Iran's takeover of Hamas, this expectation is no longer realistic. By offering Barak's concessions for a second time, Olmert isn't simply offering land. He is sending the message that Israel neither expects nor demands that the Palestinian state live at peace with Israel.

Perhaps Israel's greatest diplomatic failure since 2000 has been its failure to disavow Barak's offers and remove them from the negotiating table. Once Arafat refused Barak's far-reaching concessions and chose instead to launch a war against the Jewish state, Israel had numerous opportunities to make clear these concession were no longer on offer. Disavowing them is crucial not simply because they are diplomatically unwise. They are strategically suicidal.

As Israel's experience in south Lebanon and Gaza show clearly, areas that Israel vacates become terrorist enclaves. Given Abbas's embrace of terrorism and his political weakness, it is absolutely clear that an Israeli withdrawal from Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem will render these areas terror bases as well. Yet here the consequences will be far worse that those of previous withdrawals. An Israeli surrender of Judea, Samaria and parts of Jerusalem will divest Israel of the ability to defend itself.

Although theoretically attractive, it is impossible to partition Jerusalem between Arab and Jewish neighborhoods because there is no geographical distinction between Arab and Jewish neighborhoods. Beyond that, if Jerusalem is partitioned, the Arabs with Israeli ID cards will move to the Jewish neighborhoods and Arabs from Judea will flood the Arab neighborhoods. Far from strengthening the Jewish character of the Jewish half of the city, a partition will destroy Jewish Jerusalem. The Jews will flee, and the eternal capital of the Jewish people will be transformed into an Arab city.

As for Judea and Samaria, not only would their handover transform 250,000 Israelis into internal refugees, it would leave 80% of the citizens of the truncated Jewish state within mortar and rocket range of the Palestinian state. Moreover, an Israeli relinquishment of the areas will clear the way for Arab armies to enter the Jordan Valley unopposed. The path from there to the Mediterranean is a short and easy one.

Given all of this, it is manifestly clear that by succumbing to Rice's obsession with summitry, the Olmert government is playing with fire. It is committing Israel to negotiating positions that deny the country the ability to demand that the Palestinians come to terms with the Jewish state and live at peace with it. And it is rendering strategically suicidal seven-year old offers the starting point of all negotiations for years to come.

On Wednesday, the State Department announced that Rice's conference is being postponed until the end of November to give the parties sufficient time to "prepare the groundwork" to somehow ensure the summit's success. Also Wednesday, Olmert and Abbas reportedly agreed that the conference would be nothing more than the starting point for future negotiations.

It can only be hoped that these approaches will be combined. All negotiations should be postponed until after the summit, and the summit should be delayed for weeks, then months, then years. Otherwise, in the name of "promoting peace," Rice and her Israeli underlings will foment a new war.

Hizbullah leader says 'occupation of Palestine' is one of the Arab nation's greatest tragedies, laments lack of Arab support for Palestinian intifada, blames Israel for assassinations of anti-Syrian politicians Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that "the occupation of Palestine is one of the greatest tragedies that befell the Arab nation."

Speaking in Beirut during a ceremony to mark Al-Quds Day, Nasrallah accused Israel of planning for war by launching airstrikes against targets in Syria.

"Israel wants to impose its authority on the region. The flyover in Syria is aimed at harming Syria's position" ahead of the US-sponsored peace conference in November, Nasrallah said. "No one doubts that there Israel coordinated the strike with the Americans to draw Syria into war. This is Bush's plan for the region, not a peace plan but a plan for war as he did in Iraq and Lebanon."

Addressing the Arab world he said: "I wish the Arab armies would head toward Palestine, that's a dream. 'We are a people ready to sacrifice but you have to stand by us and support us,' that's what the Palestinian people said during the intifada."

Nasrallah also called on Arab states to boycott the conference, which he said would only benefit Israel.

"Had the Palestinian people been supported by the Arab world, it would have succeeded in liberating all the Palestinian lands occupied in 1967," Nasrallah added.

"The Zionists established gangs through Britain's aide and occupied Palestinian land, killing, massacring, looting, destroying and establishing their state through occupation and theft," he said.

He also accused Israel of orchestrating a string of assassination of anti-Syrian politicians, saying Jerusalem and Washington had an interest in preventing Lebanon's rival political parties from uniting.

Friday, October 05, 2007

For the first time ever, the U.S. House of Representatives, on a 376 – 0 vote, passed a resolution honoring the Islamic holiday Ramadan and commending Muslims for their faith. Congressman Tom Tancredo, one of 42 voting “present,” in a press release after the vote cited the resolution as "an example of the degree to which political correctness has captured the political and media elite" in America. He further stated: “I am not opposed to commending any religion for their faith. The problem is that any attempt to do so for Jews or Christians is immediately condemned as ’breaching’ the non-existent line between Church and State by the same elite.”

Congressman Scott Garrett commented that in his five years in Congress he could not remember a resolution honoring Christmas or Easter. As of this morning, a search by the ACT for America staff had not uncovered any resolution in the past 20 years honoring a Jewish holiday.

Other Members of Congress expressed being “troubled” by the resolution. Yet it passed without a single “no” vote. Why? And why the special treatment of an Islamic holiday?

Because politically correct treatment of Islam is growing, and the pressures in Washington to knuckle under to this political correctness have become extremely intense. I heard this loud and clear from Members of Congress when I spoke on Capitol Hill on September 10th. We know there are Members up there who are deeply concerned, and deeply troubled, by the growing and glowing affirmation of Islam, given Islam’s past and current history of violence, brutality, terrorism and intolerance. These congressmen and women need to know that there are millions of Americans who share their concerns. These congressmen and women need to know that there are millions of Americans who understand that Islam, especially militant Islam, has not been a religion of peace, and is, in fact, the major threat to peace and liberty in the world today.

Islamist group circumvents banks which have come under Israeli pressure by paying September salaries in cash. 'We do not want to embarrass the banks and we do not want to allow the Americans and others to undermine these banks,' group Hamas paid thousands of Gaza security officials on Friday by dishing out cash from suitcases rather than using banks, as Israel tightened a financial clampdown on the Palestinian territory.

A senior official at Gaza's Hamas-run Finance Ministry told Reuters the group planned to circumvent banks—some of which have come under Israeli-led pressure to shun Hamas—by paying September salaries to some 20,000 security forces and civil servants in cash.

Cash ShortageGaza banks may shut down by year-end / ReutersIsrael's financial clampdown may lead banks in Gaza to shut down creating a cash shortage; IMF official says Abbas may not be able to pay public sector wages soonFull Story

"We do not want to embarrass the banks and we do not want to allow the Americans and others to undermine these banks," the Hamas official said.

Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June after it routed secular rival Fatah, prompting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to sack the Hamas-led government and appoint a Fatah-backed administration in the West Bank.

Israel and Western powers have tried to block funds from reaching Hamas through the Palestinian and international banking system as part of a policy to shore up Abbas and isolate the Islamist group.

The Hamas official said the group was paying at least 10,000 Hamas security officials on Friday at police stations and security posts. The remaining 10,000 civil servants would be paid in cash on Sunday and Monday at the Post Office, which is part of the Hamas-run telecommunications ministry.

Banks could be forced to shut Gaza branches

Israeli and Palestinian officials told Reuters this week Gaza's largest Islamic bank, Palestine Islamic Bank, had received warnings from Israel and the Palestine Monetary Authority, which functions as a central bank.

A top Palestine Islamic Bank official said any accounts opened by militants at branches in the Gaza Strip have already been closed despite threats from the Islamist group. Bank officials could not immediately be reached to comment on Friday.

Israel's largest commercial bank, Bank Hapoalim "POLI.TA", said last month a decision by Israel to brand Gaza an "enemy entity" prompted it to start severing links to the territory. Regulators say other banks could follow suit.

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"I received my salary from a suitcase, we did not have to stand in lines at banks," said one member of Hamas' Executive Force paramilitary police.

The Finance Ministry official said Hamas would pay 33 to 35 million Israeli shekels ($8.74 million) in salaries this month, which it said came from local revenues.

Israeli officials believe that despite an international boycott and pressure on local banks, Hamas is able to bring into Gaza tens of millions of dollars each month using pro-Hamas businesses, cross-border tunnels and by sea.

Israel has tightened a blockade on imports and exports from Gaza since Hamas seized control in June, virtually freezing economic activity in the impoverished coastal enclave. Western powers are also boycotting the territory.

The Palestinian bank regulator said this week some

Palestinian banks could be forced to shut their Gaza branches by year-end, fearing the supply of shekels—the Israeli currency that is used in the Palestinian territories—could start running out next month.

After Israeli missile strike on Syria confirmed by both sides, the question remains – how did Israel's non-stealth jets infiltrate Syrian airspace undetected? After Syrian President Bashar Assad admitted that Israeli planes carried out a missile strike in Syria and after the media blackout on the incident was lifted in Israel, many unanswered questions still remain regarding how IAF jets managed to infiltrate Syrian security.

An article published this week on the aerospace magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology's website offers the theory of experts in the field on how the Israeli F15 and F16 jets – which are not stealth fighters – managed to evade detection by Syrian air defense radar.

US aerospace industry and former US Air Force officials told Aviation Week's Senior Military Editor David A. Fulghum that Israel must have used "a technology like the US-developed 'Suter' airborne network attack system".

The cutting-edge technology allows users to invade enemy communication networks, to "see what enemy sensors see and even take over as systems administrator so sensors can be manipulated into positions so that approaching aircraft can't be seen", experts said.

In effect, the technology infiltrates and tricks enemy sensors by "directing data streams into them that can include false targets and misleading messages algorithms that allow a number of activities including control," the article explains.

The US system was recently tested successfully in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, officials told Aviation Week.

Iran worried?According to the article, a Kuwaiti newspaper recently reported that "Russian experts are studying why the two state-of-the art Russian-built radar systems in Syria did not detect the Israeli jets entering Syrian territory. Iran reportedly has asked the same question,since it is buying the same systems and might have paid for the Syrian acquisitions."

The system is the new Tor-M1 launcher, and the Iranians bought 29 of them from Russia for $750 million to guard their nuclear sites. The Tor launchers were delivered in January, according to Agency France-Press and ITAR-TASS.

It is not confirmed that the Tor system was in fact the system guarding the Syrian site.

GAZA, (PIC)-- Ahmed Yousef, the political advisor to premier Ismail Haneyya, affirmed on Wednesday that there are official and semi-official European parties seeking to find political room for Hamas in the West. "There are European attempts to create political presence for Hamas in the European states, in the sense that there would be official and semi-official meetings with the European countries, and the statements recently issued by European institutions calling for the need to communicate with Hamas confirm that," Yousef stated in a press release received by the PIC. The political advisor pointed out that the recent statements of some European presidents and officials reflected the desire to open up to Hamas in its capacity as a key player in the Palestinian politics that enjoys huge popularity in the Palestinian street. The political advisor underlined that the Europeans are aware that no one would dare to take any initiative without the consent of Hamas and they look for a way to integrate Hamas in the political process with their understanding of Hamas's vision towards the issue of resistance as a legitimate right as long as the Israeli occupation exists. The political advisor also pointed out in this context that there are American pressures on some parties not to open up to Hamas, adding that this matter will remain stalled for some time until the current radical American administration, which is totally biased to the Israeli occupation, leaves the White House. He added: "The coming years may witness a shift in the American policy towards dealing objectively and impartially with the Palestinian affairs and this would open the door for Europe to get strongly involved in the Palestinian file and to deal seriously and officially with Hamas."

Comment: As long as Hamas can play one Western country or entity off against another -it will never be motivated to change its behavior. This is simply a fact of human behavior.

Here's how arab media reported a story-read and learn:It’s not often you hear an Israeli attack the American pro-Israeli lobby for sabotaging US foreign policy regarding the Mideast peace talks, but Akiva Eldar is no man to mince words. Israeli Slams Settlers for Influencing US Foreign Policy Barbara Ferguson, Arab News —

WASHINGTON, 5 October 2007 — It’s not often you hear an Israeli attack the American pro-Israeli lobby for sabotaging US foreign policy regarding the Mideast peace talks, but Akiva Eldar is no man to mince words.“A small minority of people dictates their interests to the US and the Middle East, and the mainstream American Jewish lobby is directing US decisions from Israel,” said Eldar, chief political columnist for Ha’aretz.Eldar, in Washington this week to promote his book, “Lords of the Land,” spoke at the Washington-based Foundation for Middle East Peace, which co-hosted the event with Americans for Peace Now.“The settlements are the ultimate proof that the American Jewish lobby should get an award for dictating their policy to the US government,” Eldar told the audience.In his book, just released in English, examines the history of Israeli settlements and accompanying military occupation in the lands conquered in 1967 and their effect on Israeli and Palestinian society.Called the “encyclopedia on the illegal settlements,” “Lords of the Land” details how settlements, occupation and settlers’ messianic religion have transformed Israel and shaken the foundations of its society.This is the second book recently published that scathingly attacks the American Jewish lobby, and Eldar’s views parallel John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt’s book, “The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy,” published in September.“Most people in the Middle East want peace and a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine,” said Eldar, noting that the illegal settlements remain “a serious, but not impossible, obstacle to peace.“The Arab League Peace Initiative offers Israel peace with 22 Arab countries in return for Israel’s withdrawal to the 1967 borders,” said Eldar. “The majority of Israelis agree with this, but the settlers’ lobbies — both in the US and Israel — are so strong that it turns us away from peace.”Eldar, the last Israeli journalist to interview Yasir Arafat before his death, and the first to interview Mahmoud Abbas after elected prime minister, was named by The Financial Times last year as “one of the most influential political commentators in the world.” Focusing on the Mideast peace meeting recently announced by President George W. Bush and expected to be held on Nov. 15 in Annapolis, Maryland, Eldar said: “[Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert, [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas and Bush are all lame ducks. They’re like gamblers with their very last dollar to play.”Still, Eldar believes the American government “must serve as a bridge between Israel and Palestinians.”Olmert could accept a two-state solution, said Eldar, because “he’s an intelligent individual who knows there is no better solution. Not because he feels we’re doing an injustice to the Palestinians, but simply because he knows it is the only choice.”Eldar said the Annapolis peace talks — the list of prospective invitees is expected to include Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the Quartet: Russia, the EU and the UN — should pressure Israel to force the settlers from the Palestinian side of the West Bank.“I believe the Wall [that divides the West Bank] did us a favor, as it brought back the idea of partition in Israel.”Thus, Eldar said, the problem is “no longer where, but when we withdraw to the line.”“Only 60,000 Israelis live on the east side of the Wall, so it is still possible for them to make ‘aliyah,’ [Hebrew word meaning ‘to emigrate’]. It is possible for them to make ‘aliyah’ to Israel, and we will offer them some of the same benefits we offered settlers who left Gaza.“The settlements are about Jewish hegemony — and they failed.”

From an Arab news media: GAZA, (PIC)-- Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, stated that the Wednesday meeting between PA chief Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli premier Ehud Olmert resulted in more failures, describing the negations with the Israeli occupation as a "farce and going after mirage." "Announcing the formation of a preparatory committee to prepare for the autumn conference is a futile step and devoid of content in light of Israel's denial of Palestinian rights and its continued aggression against the Palestinian people, which put more emphasis on the failure of such meetings to achieve anything," Abu Zuhri said in a statement.The spokesman added that the successive confirmations of Israeli leaders that they will not agree to go into issues of the final solution such as occupied Jerusalem and refugees' right to return make the formation of such committees and insistence on negotiating with the Israeli occupation "frivolous and a waste of time".The spokesman pointed out that the sole beneficiary of those meetings is the Israeli occupation, which exploits such meetings to give the impression that the Palestinian issue is on its way to solution and that there is no problem between the Palestinians and the Israelis, adding that this is what encouraged Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, to address the Arab leaders saying, "Don't be more Palestinian than the Palestinians themselves."For his part, Dr. Mohamed Al-Madhoun, head of PA premier Ismail Haneyya's office, confirmed in a statement received by the PIC that the successive meetings of Abbas with Olmert have become a burden on the Palestinian project and established a culture of division and rejection of inter-Palestinian dialogue; besides, the Palestinian people gained nothing from such meetings.Madhoun underlined that no one is entitled to waive the Palestinian constants and rights, pointing out that the agenda of those preparatory meetings do not include discussions about the Palestinian national rights such as lifting the siege or ending the repeated assaults on the Palestinian people. For his part, Taher Annono, the spokesman for the caretaker government, warned on Wednesday in a statement received by the PIC of exploiting the state of division in the Palestinian arena to sign "puny" agreements with Israel contradicting with the national unanimity and harming the entire Palestinian cause and national rights.Annono also criticized the formation of preparatory negotiating committees under membership of people notorious for waiving the Palestinian rights especially the right of return, confirming that including such figures points to grave results and intentions not representing the Palestinian people.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

When the Arabist U.S. State Department goes into full attack mode against Israel and thus American Jews, one must look a little deeper for motive. Generally, when Israel is being set up to be manipulated within the next month or two, the propaganda machine in the bowels of the State Department starts calling in its IOUs from certain flagship journals to do a black bag job on Israel. Newspapers are the main venue and such papers as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, LA Times , among others are the selected leakers. Tuesday, October 2nd, the Chicago Tribune went way out of the way to bash Israel on an event that occurred 40 years ago on June 8, 1967 when Israel was fighting for her life against Egypt , Syria, Jordan and other attacking Muslim Arab armies who swore to annihilate the Jewish State. This incident was called the "Liberty Affair". I was puzzled for a few minutes as to why the Chicago Tribune had devoted a front page with picture, headline, above-the-fold story, plus a full two page spread inside to an event that occurred 40 years ago. The title of the article was "New Revelation in Attack on American Spy Ship". As I read it, there were no new "revelations" but another dredging up of all the emotional interchanges of the time as if it happened yesterday. The story was replete with carefully selected, provocative photos that the Trib is famous for which are selected to indict and convince the readers that what follows in loaded words must be true. But, Why Now? Why was the Trib selected as first point media source to anger the American public and Congress against Israel ? THE MOTIVE: Lynching-of-Israel Conference "Middle East Summit" set for November 15th To begin with I concluded that the timing was selected to build up a head of steam before the Lynching-of-Israel Conference "Middle East Summit" set for November 15th at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland . Its location was carefully selected so those who would protest would easily be kept out-of-sight and out-of-sound to the delegates. Israel is set to be pilloried and forced to abandon more than half of Jerusalem to Arafat's terrorists who are now in the hands of Arafat's 40 year operations and bag man, companion and financier, Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen). During this "Lynching" Israel is also supposed to surrender a large stretch of her ancestral heartland, 100% of Judea and Samaria. This Land, given by G-d to the Jewish people in perpetuity, will shortly be converted into an excellent missile firing position as has been happening in Gaza since 16,000 Jewish men, women and children were evicted from their homes, farms, schools, synagogues and cemeteries two years ago. The targets will be the rest of Israel's population, 80% of which resides in the crowded coastal areas - plus the Ben Gurion International Airport. Then President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and James Baker III (former Sec. State) also want to reward Syria 's Bashar Al Assad by forcing Israel to abandon the Golan Heights where Israel carefully observes Syria's army now - with sophisticated electronics. This is the same Syria which presently is acting as the doorway for Muslim Terrorists (euphemistically called "insurgents") to enter Iraq to kill American soldiers and Iraqi civilians and soldiers.They want Israel to give up Israel 's current natural invasion barrier called the Jordan Valley. Japan has offered to assist by creating an agricultural, industrial Park (using Israel's water) for the Muslim Arab Palestinians to grow desirable fruits and vegetables which will be shipped to Jordan who will then transship to the Arab States and Europe. Everyone benefits. The Arab Palestinians will have lucrative work; the Jordanians will benefit financially; the Arab States and Europe will get bumper early crops of garden foods and Israel will lose more of her scarce water resources, land for living and growing food and - the long natural invasion barrier that now protects her longest Eastern border. This planned slicing up of the Jewish State may give you a partial idea of why the Trib may have been tasked by the State Department and White House to bash Israel at this particular time. Clearly, the Tribune attack was in synchronization with the planned "Lynching" group assembled by Condi Rice. This November 15th Lynching Kangaroo Court consists of Israel's most dedicated enemies. To complete the full picture, you must know who will act as the inquisitors in this Kangaroo Court, denials notwithstanding. First, are the creators of the so-called "Quartet" who supposedly created George W. Bush's "Road Map". In the Quartet is the "Captain", that is the pro-Arab U.S. State Department fronted by Rice with James Baker prompting from the background, with the highly likely Jewish advisors of Baker's former team, telling him of the weak spots in the Jewish leadership. The U.S. State Department has always been known for trying to abort the birth of the State of Israel in 1947-8 and ever since, to manipulate its speedy demise. Then there is the U.N. (United Nations) well known for continually voting condemnations of Israel but, never condemning the Terrorist Nations and those who support those hostile to the Western countries freedoms and democracy. The E.U. (European Union) will be there and many of them have been known as those nations who collaborated with Adolph Hitler by turning their Jews over to the Nazi Gestapo for liquidation. Of course, Russia plays its role - but, its history cannot be hidden. Russia continually persecuted its Jews with pogroms, forcing the Jews to live in abject poverty with high taxes and in the "Pale of Settlement " on poor land. Now Russia is said to be arming Iran with nuclear technology and Syria with weapons. Then you have the "Quartet" which while it contains the U.S. State Department, the U.N., the E.U. and Russia, it operates with its own agenda. In addition, this amalgam includes all the Arab Muslim nations whose oil riches control many of those other countries who might have been neutral and more fair without that manipulation. Here we must include U.S. and European vested interests plus the U.N. leaders who embezzled billions in the oil-for-food scam. Tony Blair has been appointed by the Quartet to act a high manipulator, and IF you are aware of past British attitudes toward the Jews of Israel, you will understand his appointment. The Arab League, Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia will be invited and will attend IF Rice can squeeze out "Pre-Concessions" from the weak, corrupt, craven Quisling Ehud Olmert, they too will come. Naturally, Abu Mazen, head of Fatah (including the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Tanzim and other Terror organizations left over from Arafat's days) will come. All of the above band of cut throats are being assembled by Bush and Rice to hack Israel into smaller bits, denials notwithstanding.

THE LIBERTY AFFAIR: WHY NOW? WHAT DID THE TRIB LEAVE OUT? As for the USS Liberty, the Trib and its author John Crewdson leave out a few major details. In June 1967 there was a violent life-and-death battle taking place all across the Sinai Desert , the Golan Heights and in Jerusalem after King Hussein (unwisely) attacked. Egypt 's Gamal Abdul Nasser and Syria's Hafez al Assad had repeatedly threatened Israel with annihilation. Many in the U.S. Arabist Section of the State Department didn't want Egypt to lose the battle or, at least, they wanted to minimize Egypt 's defeat. All during this time an electronic spy ship was monitoring Israeli and Egyptian communication between tank forces and aircraft. That ship should not have been in a hot battle area because there was a significant risk to itself and crew. Sending unmarked surveillance teams into war zones is a risk nations take for whatever their own reasons and motives. They generally do not shout out their identity - mostly because all know an enemy can change flags and markings - depending on who they are trying to trick. There was concern discussed at the time that this spy ship (the Trib does use that term right out front in its banner headline) was picking up battle information and positions in order to transfer them to Egypt. The claim then was that the Liberty looked like an Egyptian spy ship which was denied in follow-on arguments. Many of Israel's "Friends and Enemies" knew that the plan was to defeat and occupy Israel with an accompanying slaughter . It was not anticipated that Israel could possible defeat Egypt, Syria and Jordan in a three-front war. However, precautions were taken to insure that Israel 's adversaries would have the benefit of additional intelligence so they could maneuver and outflank Israel 's armored forces in the Sinai and Golan Heights . Betraying a friend and ally needed deep cover lest it became public knowledge, affecting politics back in the countries who decided that it would be better for all concerned if Israel were defeated by Muslim Arab countries and the Jewish State simply disappeared. Naturally, there was to be a highly publicized follow-on mission of rescue of those left alive in Israel . That's called a "Win-Win" in Intelligence parlance. Israel was not supposed to win that war and, no doubt, disappointed her detractors at the State Department. IF the spy ship was picking up Israeli battle plans and transferring them to Egypt, then they had clearly taken sides and would be viewed as a hostile force - regardless of who they were. The NSA (National Security Agency) was never asked to release its Intel tapes, if indeed they were receiving and transferring battle info to Egypt. Each side denied responsibility and its doubtful the real story will ever be told - except for a self-serving manipulation like the Tribune screed. The hit on the Liberty was finally judged a mistake in identification and the matter was officially closed. However, there were those who dedicated their lives to keeping the matter alive - as seen in this Tribune blast which used statements from sailors on that ship who themselves were not ever in the intelligence loop of "need-to-know" information of the actual mission. No doubt, the argument of fault will continue but, the timing of the Chicago Tribune assault and the placement and date of the coming Mid East Summit is more than a little suspicious. THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE ASSAULT The Tribune assault has several roles to play. First, it is intended to frighten American Jews into silence before the November Lynch Party. The location of the Summitis the U.S. Naval Academy at Anapolis. Do you think that is a coincidence? I don't. Second, it must also silence AIPAC so that the American lobby for Israel will not lobby Congress to interfere with the disassembling of Israel . The process of shutting down AIPAC began a few years ago when a sting operation was approved by Bush and Rice regarding "transfer of information". The "sting" involved a so-called illegal leak to AIPAC about Iran 's transfer of arms to Syria - something that the State Department apparently didn't want Israel to know. Third, the timing: Simultaneous with the Jewish community's biggest meeting of the year, the UJC (United Jewish Communities) General Assembly had already been scheduled for at least a year to be held on November 13-15th in Nashville, Tennessee. Simultaneity is not coincidental. American, Israeli and World Jewry will have to choose which event to attend. Presumably, the Bush Administration will be speaking at this forum to convince the Jewish attendees that giving up Jerusalem, 'et al' will somehow guarantee that the Muslim Arab Palestinian Terrorists, the Arab nations and the radical Islamists will cease terror . It is expected that, while Israel is being dissected in Maryland, the Jews attending their G.A. in Tennessee will be applauding the Bush speeches in Annapolis which will be promising "Peace in Our Time" . I have little doubt that we'll see a sequence of other flag-ship journals and lesser lights picking up the story as it if were today's hot news. I expect to see a lot of S..t. thrown against the wall to see what sticks before the November 15th lynching by Bush, Rice and Baker against Israel. As for the European Media, they never need a reason to bash Israel but, Condi's Lynch Party will be attractive to up the condemnations. The State Department seems to have pulled out all the stops to insure the victim (Israel ) will, indeed, be lynched and left twisting in the wind at the November Surprise. That has been the State Department's goal since 1947 and has not stopped or faltered a day since. While Rice is the "talking head" for Bush, look for James Baker as the "masked" arranger slightly off in the shadows advising Rice how to best get at the Jews - as he did in the failed "Road Map" plan. I speculated as to whether this Tribune attack was the "Kick-off Campaign of Propaganda" but, then remembered CNNs Christiane Amanpour's spectacular earlier series "The Warriors of God".which was aired twice in August 2007. Christiane, herself an Iranian, opened the series by positioning Israel as the baseless attacker of those poor innocent Palestinians. Perhaps the Amanpour series was the real "Kick-off" of State's preparation to Lynch Israel. CNN is sort of like the New York Times of TV and well connected to State. Recall how CNN was allowed to stay in Iraq by Saddam Hussein in 1991 while all the other TV outlets were kicked out during the first Gulf War when Hussein attacked Kuwait . They really pulled open the manhole cover to this sewer and the stink of managed news is smelling up to the ceiling. 1. "New Revelations in Attack On American Spy Ship: The Strike on the USS Liberty" by John Crewdson Chicago Tribune Tues. October 2, 2007

Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Palestinian caretaker government in Ramallah is preparing to wage a "financial war" on its rival de facto Hamas government in the Gaza Strip to force them to retract June's military coup, Arab media outlets reported on Wednesday. (Ma'anImages)Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Palestinian caretaker government in Ramallah is preparing to wage a "financial war" on its rival de facto Hamas government in the Gaza Strip to force them to retract June's military coup, Arab media outlets reported on Wednesday.They have adopted a series of measures to stop the flow of funding reaching Hamas' coffers and new laws have been ratified to "fight money laundering." According to the London-based Al-Hayat daily newspaper, the Palestinian financial ministry, the Security Exchange and the Interior Ministry, say that Hamas receives financial aid from abroad via four channels.The first channel is through commercial companies and currency exchanges. The owners of these companies and currency exchanges receive huge amounts of money abroad and deliver that money to Hamas dignitaries in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The companies make up to 20% profit on the deliveries.The second channel is through underground tunnels between then Gaza Strip and Egypt which Palestinian officials say is the main route for cash flowing into Hamas coffers after official transaction routes were blocked.The third channel is through charities, especially the so-called "alms giving committees." These committees receive huge amounts of money from Arab countries, particularly the Gulf States, which then distribute money to Hamas institutions.The fourth channel was the delivery of cash bags through the Rafah crossing, although this route has not been used since the crossing was closed in June. The Ramallah-based government is being cautious policy in the playing out of this financial "war" against Hamas. "Hamas has become a hostile organization to the Palestinian Authority after they used armed militias to undertake a military coup against the Palestinian Authority, claiming that they are resisting occupation," said Sadi Al-Krunz, Secretary General of the Palestinian Cabinet.Hamas said that the campaign to squeeze them financially will fail. A Hamas official said, " If Israel and the United States failed to follow Hamas financial routes, will Fayyad's government succeed?"He added that there are "a million ways and means of bringing money to Hamas."

Five former State Department and Pentagon officials are proposing Israeli and Palestinian capitals in Jerusalem and excluding Arab refugees from returning to Israel as part of a Middle East accordIn a six-page policy statement submitted to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, they also suggested a series of peace conferences following the one she hopes to convene next month, probably in Annapolis, Maryland, near Washington.

Hamas has not met US terms for attending. Those conditions are recognizing Israel's right to exist and abandoning violence against it.

But the ex-officials suggested Hamas might be drawn to attend a second conference, which implicitly would accept the first one and Israel's existence. They called the role of Hamas the most difficult issue in peacemaking.

Jerusalem's future and that of Palestinian refugees have snarled past US peace efforts.

Former President Bill Clinton's mediation efforts between the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak envisioned sharing of Jerusalem.

Clinton ruled out requiring Israel to take in most Palestinians or their families who claimed to have been forced out of Israel during creation of the Jewish state in 1947-8.

It will be very difficult, "but not impossible," said Robert Pelletreau, a former US ambassador to Egypt and ex-assistant secretary of state for the region. "There is a little bit of momentum starting to build" with talks between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a mediator, he said in a telephone interview.

Along with announcement of the conference, he said, "you have several things that can reinforce each other if they are framed properly." "The refugee issue is the most difficult," he said. "And Jerusalem is right up with it."

Edward S. Walker, a former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, said Hamas was the most difficult issue. "Unless Hamas changes its stripes there is no way to deal with them on the current situation," he said in an interview.

But, Walker added, "a lot of things that appear to be impossible now might well become possible if there is hope that a true and real peace can be established." The policy paper was prepared by Israel Policy Forum, a nonpartisan American group that promotes sustained US diplomacy to end the conflict between Israel and its neighbors.

Next month's conference should reaffirm that the goal is two independent and sovereign states, with borders roughly along the lines that separated Israel from the Arabs before the 1967 Six Day war, the statement said.

It also called for a "just solution' to refugee questions that recognizes "the suffering and the plight of the Palestinian refugees." They would be permitted to move only to the new Palestinian state, with compensation from Israel, the Palestinian state and other nations.

Besides Pelletreau and Walker, the former US diplomats included Thomas Pickering, an ex-undersecretary of state and ambassador to Israel and Jordan; Samuel Lewis, former ambassador to Israel; and Frederic C. Hof, Mideast official in the Pentagon. The report was written and coordinated primarily by Steven L. Spiegel, political science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Rice has been meeting with former US negotiators and ex-American diplomats, and has not replied to the policy paper, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday.

In a separate message to Rice, 79 senators lined up by the pro-Israel lobby, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, said friendly Arab countries should participate in the conference as full partners of the United States. The Arab countries should stop support for terrorist groups and cease all anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incitement while pressing Hamas to recognize Israel and to reject terror, AIPAC said.

The senators praised Rice, Israel and the Palestinian government for working hard to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East but said peace will remain elusive "without a sincere commitment from our allies."

On August 8, the U.S. Treasury Department designated the al-Salah Society as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), calling it "one of the largest and best funded Hamas charities." Treasury revealed that Hamas had used al-Salah, "to finance its terrorist agenda." The designation was one of many actions taken against Hamas front groups dating back to 1995, when Washington first designated Hamas a terrorist organization. Unfortunately, these actions do little to hinder Hamas activities in America. The problem is not that Treasury's actions are insufficient. Rather, U.S. companies continue to knowingly or unwittingly facilitate Hamas Internet and television services. Moreover, professors, media outlets, and even a former U.S. president, help Hamas broadcast its messages throughout America, even as Washington attempts to weaken the terror group following the violent takeover of Gaza. Whitewashing Hamas in the ClassroomWhile Hamas represses its own Palestinian people in Gaza and continues to launch rockets into Israel indiscriminately, a legion of U.S. apologists, including Muslim lobby groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR ), propose that the U.S. recognize the terrorist government, so it may be influenced to modify its agenda. Leading the charge, alongside the Muslim lobby groups, are American academicians. Boston University professor Augustus Richard Norton and Harvard University Middle Eastern Studies scholar Sara Roy recently co-authored an article for the Christian Science Monitor entitled, "Yes, You Can Work With Hamas," encouraging Washington to recognize the legitimacy of the terrorist organization. Writer Cinnamon Stillwell notes that Roy, in particular, has "long been invested in forging the idea of a 'New Hamas' by attempting to downplay the group's openly genocidal ambitions and picturing them instead as an enlightened group of do-gooders interested only in social services and education." Roy and Norton are not alone. Scores of other professors, including the University of Maryland's Shibley Telhami; associate professor of political science and international relations at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Virginia Tilley; and Columbia University Professor Rashid Khalidi, have increasingly sided with Hamas, blaming all Palestinian woes on Israel, despite the fact that an internationally recognized terrorist organization now governs Gaza. Read All OverThe positions advanced by these academicians are also buttressed by the mainstream press, which has helped Hamas spread its propaganda. On November 1, 2006, for instance, The New York Times ran an opinion piece penned by Ahmed Yousef, an advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Yousef claimed that Israel refused a Hamas-proposed ceasefire with Israel. What the Times failed to note was that Yousef's call for a hudna was essentially a call to let the guns fall silent in the near term, but did nothing to assure that Hamas' long-term goal of destroying Israel would be addressed. On June 20, immediately following the violent takeover of Gaza, both The New York Times and The Washington Post, America's newspapers of record, ran two different op-eds by Yousef. The Times piece, entitled "What Hamas Wants," falsely claimed that after the Hamas coup, "the streets of Gaza are now calm," promising reform and disarmament under Hamas rule. In truth, Hamas has imposed a Taliban-like regime in Gaza that includes the killing of innocents, arbitrary confiscation of property, muzzling the media, and increased links to Iran and al-Qaeda . The Times, however, insisted that running the Hamas opinion piece contributed to a greater understanding of Gaza's new rulers.The Washington Post, on the same day, ran a separate op-ed penned by Yousef entitled, "Engage With Hamas." The piece argued that if Gaza became "a breeding ground for terrorism," Washington would be to blame , particularly if it did not engage with the new Hamas regime. These publications handed Hamas a propaganda coup. Predictably, pro-Israel groups were enraged over the two opinion pieces. But the mainstream media was unmoved. On July 10, 2007, The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed entitled, "Hamas' Stand," by Mousa Abu Marzook, a Damascus-based Hamas official heavily involved in Hamas fundraising. Marzook insisted that the terrorist group's, "militant stance cannot by itself be the disqualifying factor." Over the AirwavesThe Hamas PR machine penetrates U.S. airwaves, too. The easiest venue to disseminate its message has been the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite television channel. While the channel is not accessible on cable or local satellites, Americans can easily access it on the Internet. The channel has helped Hamas transmit the idea that suicide operations, or "martyrdom," is approved by the prominent cleric and spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, Yousuf al-Qardawi. On July 16, 2007, for example, al-Jazeera featured a program in which Hamas chief Khaled Meshal, sitting alongside Qardawi, thanked the cleric for his "support of martyrdom operations." Meshal praised Qardawi because he issued, "rulings in support of these operations, and there were times when we were in dire need of these rulings." American networks, for their part, have provided a platform for one of Hamas' most ardent advocates, former President Jimmy Carter. In one interview, Carter told ABC that, "Hamas leaders sent me word that what they want to do is to form, to quote them, a peaceful, united, unity government." The former president cast no doubt on this proclamation from a known terrorist organization. Indeed, he pleaded with American viewers on CNN to, "Give Hamas a chance." Hatred.comHamas also relies heavily upon the Internet to disseminate its virulent anti-Israel and anti-American message, which arguably makes their computer keyboards as dangerous as the rockets they fire into Israel. The Internet allows Hamas to raise funds, plan terrorist attacks, maintain international communication, and expand influence and recruitment through advertising and chat rooms. Hamas operates a number of sites including: paltime.net; alresalah.info; palestiniangallery.com; fm-m.com; felesteen.ps; al-fateh.net; mujamaa.org; islamic-block.net; alkotla.com; palestinianforum.com; aqsatv.ps; and tanfithya.com. Perhaps the most well known Hamas propaganda website is the Lebanon-based "Palestine-info" network of 20 or more websites. Domains include: Palestine-info-urdu.com, palestine-persian.info and palestine-info.net. The operation is run from Beirut by senior Hamas activist Nizar Hussein, with instructions from Damascus-based Hamas chief Khaled Meshal. A page entitled "Heroic Stories" on Palestine-info is a good example of the virulent content on this website network. Here, Hamas glorifies female suicide bombers , and includes a religious ruling (fatwa ) from Qardawi. Other Palestine-info pages include idealized photos and propaganda of weapons-toting suicide bombers.The Palestine-info websites include official Hamas news, propaganda, and chat forum outlets in eight languages targeting the Middle East, Western Muslim communities, as well as non-Muslims around the world. In addition to English and Arabic, Palestine-info publishes pages in Farsi, Urdu, Malaysian, and Turkish, as well as Russian (targeting Chechens) and French (for North Africans). Internet Service ProvidersOpinions vary on the exact number of American Internet service providers (ISPs) that facilitate Hamas activities on the web. According to Internet-Haganah.com, an activist website, Hamas purchased 18 websites (roughly 60 percent of its sites) from North American providers . However, an August 2007 report by Dr. Reuven Erlich asserts that Hamas obtained only about seven (roughly 35 percent) of its estimated 20 websites from North American ISPs. Either way, corporations that sell server space and Internet services to Hamas are aiding and abetting the terrorist network. U.S. companies that support Hamas via the web include Domainbank.com , register.com, Network Solutions LLC, OnlineNIC Inc., GoDaddy.com, eNom Inc., Defender Technologies Group, and Oversee.net. Canadian firms that service Hamas include: Groupe iWeb Technologies Inc., Tucows Inc., and NIC.ps.ConclusionThe Hamas PR machine exploits the American democratic system to spread hatred and incitement through America's communications infrastructure, thereby assisting Hamas fundraising and recruitment activities. U.S. journalists, academics, and television networks that implore Washington to engage in dialogue with Hamas are providing this terrorist group with national and international platforms . Although these actions aid and abet our enemies, our Constitution protects them. However, we can shutter Hamas websites, especially when providers are American, by invoking the Patriot Act, which defines facilitation of terrorist communications services as a terrorist act . Congress can also help by instituting new "Know Your Customer" requirements for all Internet service providers, and specifically network access and domain name register companies. Some analysts argue that Hamas websites and TV broadcasts must remain operational so that the intelligence community can monitor them. This is a poor strategy. For every day these platforms remain online, hate propaganda continues to poison millions of minds, drawing recruits, and raising funds. And the terrorists go on killing. Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, director of the American Center of Democracy, is a member of the board of the Committee for the Present Danger. Alyssa A. Lappen is a senior fellow at ACD. Both authors are contributing editors to the American Congress For Truth. Original item available at: http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/article/59

Palestinian president tells Washington Post full Israeli withdrawal from territories, safe passage between West Bank and Gaza Strip are fundamental conditions for peace agreement Asked how the Gaza Strip should be regarded following Hamas takeover, Abbas stated that, "Nobody recognizes Gaza. We have one authority, one cabinet, one government. Hamas is an illegal government."

In the interview, the president expressed his confidence in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, saying he believed him to be "sincere and serious," and interested in reaching peace.

Abbas was also approving of Vice Premier Haim Ramon's initiative of ceding East Jerusalem to the Palestinians. "In principle, this is the right direction," he said. "The Palestinians should have their own part and the Israelis should have their own part. . . . I say and have always said that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory. We have to restore it."

In need of independenceReferring to the issue of the Palestinians' right of return, he said, "This is my right, but how I will use this right is up to me and to the refugees and to the agreement which will take place between us.

"We want to find a permanent solution. The Israelis want security, and we are in need of independence. How can we deal with these two pillars? There is a gap between the two sides. We want to bridge the gap during the negotiations."

Abbas said that despite his initial reservations, he was now supportive of the US' policy of isolating Gaza, adding that Hamas will likely attempt to sabotage any agreement reached between Israel and the PA.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Comment: I guess that definition of freedom means you can say what you want if it agrees with our position; BUT if you dare challenge us, we shall use all the Western tools to make you back down-hmm, sounds like school yard bully behavior to me!

Teheran summons French envoy over tough talk by French FM Last month, Kouchner said the world should "prepare for the worst" in Iran, specifically "war." Amid criticism, Kouchner later softened that, insisting he just wanted to underline the gravity of the Iranian nuclear problem. "Kouchner, in unrealistic and irresponsible remarks, has accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of seeking to obtain a nuclear bomb," the broadcast said, adding that the charge d'affairs was summoned to Iran's Foreign Ministry to receive a formal protest over his remarks.

Report: Abbas agrees to talk to Hamas Fatah and Hamas have agreed in principle to launch a secret dialogue in Cairo, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Wednesday.

According to the report, a Palestinian source told the newspaper that Egypt's efforts to mediate between the two movements have succeeded and have yielded an agreement in principle to hold secret talks in Cairo.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are expected to meet Wednesday for the sixth time in order to discuss their joint statements for the US-sponsored Mideast peace conference scheduled to take place in Annapolis in November.

Last weekend, Abbas said in an interview with Newsweek that he was against Hamas and now identifies with the American stance. He also said that he would not reunite in a government with Hamas under any circumstances "because it was a very bad experience."

Asked about his conditions for talks with Hamas, Abbas replied that the two groups would talk only after the situation in the Gaza Strip returns to its original state.

According to the Palestinian source who spoke to al-Sharq al-Awsat, however, Abbas informed Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who is in charge of the mediation efforts, of his agreement in principle to launch a secret dialogue with Hamas representatives.

The source added that Azzam al-Ahmad, head of the Fatah faction in the Palestinian parliament, will head the movement's delegation to the talks, although a date for the start of the dialogue has yet to be set.

According to the report, General Suleiman asked both movements to provide him with their "vision" for a solution to the crisis before setting a date to start the talks. The Egyptian suggestion for solving the dispute will be presented to the representatives when the meetings begin.

Sudan also tries to mediate

According to the report, Suleiman has been holding direct talks with members of Hamas' political bureau in Damascus, headed by the organization's politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, in addition to the ongoing talks with Abbas and Fatah leaders in the territories and elsewhere.

The report added that Mustafa Othman Ismail, the Sudanese president's foreign affairs advisor, recently contacted Abbas and Mashaal and offered to mediate between the two, but went back on his offer after learning that Egypt was already leading the mediation efforts.

Different sources from both movements told the newspaper that "unplanned meetings" had already been held between representatives of the two movements in Beirut following meetings held by the Palestinian factions three weeks ago.

According to the reports, Abbas' former national security advisor Jibril Rajoub met with Muhammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas' political bureau in a bid to solve the crisis, but the meeting failed to bring the movements closer.

The report said the two officials disagreed over the question which side should make the first move in order to make the dialogue succeed and express the sincerity of its intentions.

Ronny Sofer contributed to this report

Comment:There is no secret, they have already been meeting prior to today. This is "diplo" talk for introducing the idea to the public that they are doing something they absolutely promised they would never do-again. Watch how Israel responds to this news. We have said we will not talk to Hamas, absolutely no-thus any more conversations with Fatah should automatically halt. Let us see what happens and how much pressure the USA puts on Olmert et al.

Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, came to America to stick his thumb in our eye and deliver a sanitized version of "Death to America!" and "The Holocaust Never Occurred." ." Lee Bollinger, the Columbia University president, described this as "astonishingly uneducated." True, but Ahmadinejad's use of the Goebbels technique of the Big Lie has a purpose: to undermine the legitimacy of the State of Israel. It is of a piece with the refusal of Palestinians to this day to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist, even though some acknowledge the fact that Israel does exist. It is also one of the main reasons that efforts to broker a peaceful outcome in the Middle East have thus far been futile. And it will likely overhang the newest peace initiative, which the Bush administration hopes to launch this fall.This campaign of repudiation cuts deeply into the Israeli psyche. The Israelis know that the Jews have lived in the land of Israel without interruption for nearly 4,000 years. They know that, except for a short Crusader kingdom, they are the only people who have had independent sovereignty on this land. And they are the only people for whom Jerusalem has been their capital.They are not a foreign occupier because the State of Israel is the child not of European colonialism but rather of Ottoman decolonialization. It was that Jewish historical bond that led the League of Nations 85 years ago to establish the right of the Jewish people to reconstitute a Jewish homeland on all the territories west of the Jordan River, all the way to the Mediterranean. That same right to a national home was sanctioned again 59 years ago by the new United Nations. After an Arab invasion 40 years ago, the U.N. passed a resolution affirming Israel's right to "secure and recognized boundaries." As Winston Churchill noted in 1922, "The Jews are in Palestine by right, not sufferance." The refusal of the Palestinians and of Ahmadinejad to recognize this has, for decades, undercut Israeli confidence in their true motives.Subtle untruths. And when Yasser Arafat said there was no First or Second Temple in Jerusalem but only "an obelisk," he, too, was trying to deny the history of the Jewish people in Jerusalem. But this is the site of the binding of Isaac by Abraham, the place where David built the altar on the threshing floor of Aravna to halt the plague. The Temple Mount was where Jesus was brought as an infant and where he later chased away the money-changers. Mentioned 20 times in the New Testament, the Temple Mount is one of the cornerstones of the Judeo-Christian ethical tradition of the West. Yet it is all denied by the Palestinians. This obduracy, combined with waves of terrorism, has shattered the Israeli-Palestinian relationship.The Bush administration, with the help of Tony Blair, is seeking to build a partnership by convening a meeting between the Palestinians and Israelis this fall, tentatively in November and most likely in the United States. It is hoped that this meeting will be joined by other Arab countries. What can be expected from it?One reason for caution about it is that there has been a shift in Palestinian society from the focus on nationalism to a focus on religion—an Arafat legacy. It was Arafat who invoked the Islamic terms of jihad and shahada; it was Arafat who described "all of Palestine," which includes all of Israel, as a "holy wakf," i.e., an Islamic trust that cannot be given away; it was Arafat who introduced children to radical Islamic thinking so that they could become terrorists and suicide bombers. The name that Arafat gave to the violence that began in the year 2000 was not the "West Bank intifada" but the "al-Aqsa intifada," making it clear that religion was an integral part of the struggle. When suicide bombers blow up Israelis, they don't yell, "Free Nablus!" They yell, "Allahu Akbar!" The backdrop is Islamic and not territorial.That is why the Middle East is so different from Northern Ireland, which is sometimes falsely used as a comparison. The basic goal of the Irish Republican Army was to create a united Ireland, to bring Ireland to Ulster, not to London. Their goal was never to replace England with Ireland, unlike the Palestinians who wish to rule not just in the West Bank and Gaza but in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. The IRA struggle was primarily a political one, its violence not supported by the Roman Catholic Church. At its core the conflict was over borders, whereas in the Middle East the conflict has become not just a territorial conflict but much more of a religious one.Arafat personified the Palestinian problem of leadership, and for a long time the current president, Mahmoud Abbas, has been weak and ineffective. As David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy put it, "The people who are moderate are not effective. And the people who are effective are not moderate." Today, the impossible Arafat has been replaced by an impotent Abbas, but the new figure of Salaam Fayed as prime minister may change the equation. He is the most talented Palestinian to emerge at the leadership level. He recognizes that rather than continually presenting themselves as victims, Palestinians must work to build a credible and honest institution of government, beginning with reforming their security services.Absent these reforms, the Palestinians will be unable to confront and subdue Hamas, the jihadists, and the various warlords of the local militias in the West Bank.The Israelis are naturally leery of Abbas because they witnessed how Hamas so humiliatingly chased his men out of Gaza. They remember that Hamas beat Fatah to win a plurality of the vote in the West Bank during the last election; they have been warned by their security services that Hamas could take over the West Bank if the Israeli Defense Forces weren't there. The Israelis will be reluctant to fund, arm, and embrace a new Palestinian leadership that has yet to tackle terrorism, yet to stop instilling hate in the young, yet to stop printing maps without Israel, and yet to confront their own people with the clear message that the end of terrorism is a precondition to progress. Had there been a peace education in the West Bank parallel to that in Israel after Oslo, no one would have joined Arafat's calls for war. Without such a program, signing a piece of paper with the Palestinians is meaningless.Honest government. Fayed knows that Fatah must win popular support by focusing on health, education, law, and order to improve the lives of the Palestinians; he knows this means establishing an honest administration and a civil society that can develop a functioning economy and middle class, rather than support a corrupt, rich elite. (No wonder the Palestinians refer to Abbas's government as the government of salaries.) He knows that the Israelis will be unable to pull out of large sectors of the West Bank while they fear a Gaza-like repetition of rockets raining on Ben-Gurion Airport and Tel Aviv.The Israelis fear that even if a Palestinian state is officially demilitarized on paper, it could accumulate within a few years a vast arsenal of weapons that could kill thousands of Israelis. Gaza has shown that a security fence cannot prevent missiles from flying over and killing and wounding Israelis. Then there is the fact that Palestinians in the West Bank would control 60 percent of Israel's water. The Israeli defense minister put it squarely: In those circumstances, Israel could not leave the West Bank until it develops a defensive system against rocket attacks.Expectations about the forthcoming meeting should not be high, for high expectations risk a disappointment that would result in negative consequences, such as those that followed Camp David under President Clinton. Of course the Palestinians support the meeting, and yes, Abbas's words about a peaceful resolution of conflict are music to the West. But he has an incentive to talk softly, because apparent moderation might bring money and economic support for his administration. Of course the Palestinians want concrete, fundamental political agreements to help rebuild their political credibility. The question that will haunt the negotiation is whether they will be able to implement the agreements they do make, given the hostility of Hamas and their own record of nonperformance. And given the current status of the Palestinian government and its impotence, a far-reaching agreement could cause the breakup of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition in Israel. Meanwhile, Hamas lies in wait to sabotage the dialogue, either by portraying Abbas as a servant of the United States and Israel or by resorting to terrorism. There already has been a noticeable rise in violence from the Gaza Strip and an average of 63 threat alerts a day in the West Bank.The Israelis will be cautious about the specifics of their proposals, knowing that when something is on the table it is always on the table, and they do not want commitments made now to be used as a point of departure, should the current Palestinian leadership collapse or be replaced. They fear that neither Abbas nor Fayed is a man of the sword: Both lack the muscle of effective intelligence services and security organizations in a culture where men are willing to kill and be killed. That is why they worry, as one Israeli put it, that these negotiations will be a "soufflé"—a lot of hot air and very little substance.This meeting then should be seen not as a climax but as just the beginning of a process. Nevertheless, the emergence of Fayed on the Palestinian side and the modest strengthening of Olmert on the Israeli side do provide an opportunity to have a constructive dialogue and to support moderate forces in the Palestinian world in their conflict with violent Islamism. As the Israeli prime minister said, "It is always possible to say no," but given indications of a new constructive partner with whom the Israelis can talk, he added, "we must look for opportunities to say yes."

A suicide bombing attack was prevented in Tel Aviv when an explosive belt was found hidden in an apartment in the southern part of the city. The attack was prevented as the result of a broad Israeli security force counterterrorist activities in the refugee camp of Ein Beit Alma' in Nablus , during which dozens of terrorist operatives were detained and large quantities of weapons found The suicide bombing attack, which was to have been carried out by a joint Hamas-Popular Front squad, was prevented when a resident of Nablus who worked in Tel Aviv was detained. His interrogation led the Israeli security forces to the explosive belt, which weighed 10 kg ( 22 lbs ) and was hidden in an apartment in south Tel Aviv. The belt was discovered on Yom Kippur (September 22) and detonated in a controlled explosion. 1

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due in the region in mid October for further talks with Palestinian and Israeli officials ahead of the international peace conference scheduled for November in Annaheim in the U.S. Rice’s trip, which is planned for after the Muslim ‘Id Al-Fitr holidays, is intended to intensify pressure on Palestinian and Israeli leaders to reach a framework deal laying the foundation for serious peace talks ahead of the international gathering. The talks with the leaders in the region will also focus on setting up the agenda for the conference. In her statement at the U.N. General Assembly last week, Rice expressed hope at being able to gather the Israelis, Palestinians, Arab and other key players to the conference in order to give new impetus to Palestinian statehood.

Palestinians and some Arab states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly asked the secretary of state during her previous trips to the region for a clear agenda for the conference in order to yield tangible results. A few weeks ago Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud 'Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to set up negotiating teams that would try to formulate the general outline of a peace deal ahead of the conference. The negotiating committees are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss a deal on final status issues, including the shape of final borders and the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. The Palestinians hope that talks with Israel will create a deal with a clear timeline to be used as the core of any future agreement, while Israel wants a more general declaration of principles.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel is determined to move police to a new West Bank headquarters by the end of the year, officials said Monday, despite US concerns that Israeli development in that particular area near occupied Jerusalem harms prospects for establishing a viable Palestinian state. The United States has blocked past Israeli efforts to develop the 12-square-kilometre area, known as E-1 and located just east of occupied Jerusalem. Development plans envision 3,500 homes, several hotels and an industrial park there, but were frozen at the urging of the US. The E-1 project, if completed, would effectively cut off Arab East Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital, from the West Bank hinterland. Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups see the E-1 proposal as part of an Israeli attempt to consolidate control over West Bank land east of Jerusalem, with the help of a massive separation barrier and new highways. In the meantime, Israel has gone ahead with building a four-storey police station in the E-1 area. The Israeli daily Haaretz said that Israel has argued that unlike homes, a security installation such as a police station, could be more easily removed if required in a peace deal. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat warned that Israel is undermining fledgling peace efforts. In November, the US is to host a Middle East conference in hopes of relaunching negotiations on final Israeli-Palestinian deal. "I believe the continuation of such policies, creating facts on the ground, is undermining efforts that are being exerted to show that peace is possible," Erekat said of the E-1 plan. The new police building will house Israeli police officers serving in the West Bank. Construction of the building is largely complete. During a recent visit, reporters saw construction crews working on a four-lane highway, which is to branch off from the main Dead Sea-Jerusalem road and pass near the police station. Israel's public security minister, Avi Dichter, told Haaretz that police officers would move to the new building by the end of the year. "The housing ministry needs to finish the site's infrastructure, and the move into the building is currently being held up only by the infrastructure issue," he said. Haaretz quoted Dichter as saying Israel was not seeking US consent for the move. Dichter's spokesman, Yehuda Maman, that "what is planned is what will happen, we aren't talking about 'if'." Stewart Tuttle, a US embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv, said neither side should take steps that prejudice the outcome of a final peace deal, but that it's up to Israelis and Palestinians to work out their disagreements. "We are already on a very positive path of discussions between the parties themselves ... and that is where everyone's focus should be," he said. However, Dan Kurtzer, a former US ambassador to Israel, said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice followed E-1 development plans closely. "Every time there have been newspaper reports and other indicators of construction in that place, the secretary herself has responded very immediately," Kurtzer said in an interview last week. "Even this administration, which has not taken a very strong stand on settlements generally, has understood the importance of not closing off the north and south of the West Bank from each other by a string of Israeli settlements that will be enclosed by the security barrier," he said. The E-1 project is located near Maaleh Adumim, the largest Jewish settlement with 30,000 residents. Israel has also approved plans to build a large loop of its separation barrier in that area, reaching halfway to the Jordanian border and fencing off some 60 square kilometres of the West Bank. The loop would incorporate Maaleh Adumim, but also several small outlying settlements, driving a deep wedge into the West Bank. The Maaleh Adumim loop is being challenged in the Supreme Court by the Council for Peace and Security, a group of more than 1,000 retired Israeli security officials who have proposed an alternative that would engulf about half the land the government has proposed. The court has frozen construction of the barrier segment and awaits a decision from Defense Minister Ehud Barak whether he is determined to move ahead with the large loop. Agencies

Defense officials expressed skepticism Tuesday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's negotiating team could agree with the Palestinians on fundamental final-status issues ahead of the US-sponsored peace conference next month. Olmert is set to host Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday in his succa. The officials said that with Shas and Israel Beiteinu in the coalition, Olmert had little leeway in negotiating with the Palestinians and would be forced to use vague language in the declaration of principles to be presented at the conference. One example had to do with the final borders of a future Palestinian state. "The declaration will not be able to say: 'The borders will be the pre-1967 lines,'" a defense official said. "But instead, it will have to say something like: 'In accordance with' or 'based on' the pre-1967 border." Defense Minister Ehud Barak has appointed the head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Military Bureau, Amos Gilad, as his representative at the talks with the Palestinians. Officials close to Barak and Gilad said Tuesday it was unlikely anything concrete would come from the talks and that it was important to begin lowering expectations ahead of the international conference so it would not trigger a third intifada if it failed. "We need to be realistic and realize that Abbas will have extreme difficulty in delivering on any of his commitments," a defense official involved in the talks told The Jerusalem Post. "There is also a real chance that the Palestinians will pull out of the [international] summit even before it takes place due to Israel's refusal to commit itself on final-status issues." A senior defense official said Barak had approved an IDF plan, first reported last week in the Post, to shut down all of the crossings into the Gaza Strip and "disconnect" from the territory, if and when the violence emanating from there escalates. The plan calls for the completion of the disengagement that started in 2005 with the evacuation of the Gaza Strip settlements, including the closure of all crossings into Israel and the transfer of all of Israel's responsibilities toward the Strip to Egypt. "There is no other solution for the Gaza Strip," a defense official said. "Abbas has no control over the territory, and there is no choice but to completely cut it off from Israel." Olmert will host Abbas in his succa at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem at noon on Wednesday. The meeting was to have taken place on Tuesday, but was pushed off a day due to what officials in the Prime Minister's Office described as technical reasons. This will be the fifth meeting between the two men since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June. They will meet one-on-one and discuss what they want to be included in the statement of principles for the November peace conference, which is scheduled to take place in Annapolis, Maryland. Ahead of the meeting, Olmert held consultations on Tuesday night with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. After Wednesday's meeting, Olmert and Abbas will give orders to negotiating teams, which will hold the first of a series of meetings on a joint statement to be presented to the November gathering. Along with Gilad, the Israeli negotiating team consists of the prime minister's political adviser, Shalom Turgeman; Olmert's bureau chief Yoram Turbowicz; and Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramovitch. But recent contacts, including those between Olmert and Abbas and at the foreign minister level, have revealed significant differences of approach between the sides. Israel is seeking a general statement of principles, leaving the details to be thrashed out in bilateral negotiations after the gathering. However, The Palestinians are pressing for the core issues, such as borders, Jerusalem and refugees, to be included in the joint statement along with a timetable for implementation.

Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that blame for Israel's woes can be laid at the door of the nation's leftists, whom he referred to as "Hellenists." Next week, representatives of Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party are scheduled to present Lieberman's harsh comments came in response to a call by the far-left Gush Shalom. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with their own vision for Israeli territorial concessions.

"I have no claims against the Arabs, nor against the world. I do have a complaint against the leftists. All of our troubles, all of our problems, all of our victims are because of those people," Lieberman told an IDF Radio interviewer. He went on to call the left-wingers "Hellenists," saying, "They are trying to break us from within at any cost, to destroy every consensus."

Prompted by Leftist Call for Boycott Lieberman's harsh comments came in response to a call by the far-left Gush Shalom (Peace Bloc) organization to boycott musical artists who agreed to perform in the communities of Gush Etzion (the Etzion Bloc), in northern Judea. Several well-known artists, including Idan Reichel, Ehud Banai and Ety Ankri, are appearing as part of celebrations this week marking 40 years since the reestablishment of the Etzion Bloc. A Gush Shalom statement called these artists "armor-bearers and hired guns of the settlers." In particular, the far-left group mentioned that Reichel will be the central act in Nokdim, "the home settlement of the extremist racist Avigdor Lieberman."

"When I hear that several known leftists call to boycott the artists coming to celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of Gush Etzion - to boycott them - I think I have been very mild in referring to them as 'Hellenists,'" Lieberman said. "Gush Etzion is within the widest Zionist consensus. It was the [left-wing] governments that established Gush Etzion, so to treat Gush Etzion as if it were an unauthorized outpost - that is true baseless hatred."

Lieberman went on to clarify his point: "In general, all of our problems are not because of the outside world, not because of the international community - they are because of those people. As I have always said, we had Maccabees and we had Hellenists and we had the [far-left organization] Brit Shalom. Today, we have people who go to defame Israeli soldiers who take part in various operations, there are those Israelis who are leading the British academic boycott - they are our primary problem."

In the eyes of some on the right-wing, however, Lieberman himself may be classified as "left" in that the party he heads, Yisrael Beiteinu, advocates relinquishing territory in the Land of Israel to a sovereign Arab entity. Next week, representatives of Yisrael Beiteinu will be meeting with Prime Minister Olmert to present their position advocating a new Arab state within Israel's current borders. Party officials said they will remain in the coalition only if the government respects the party's "red lines" when it comes to territorial appeasement. Among other ideas, Yisrael Beiteinu advocates an exchange of territories with the new proposed Arab state, according to which even Lieberman's hometown of Nokdim could be relinquished and Israeli Arab towns become part of the Arab political entity. However, several Knesset Members of Yisrael Beiteinu have voiced objections to the plan by Vice Prime Minister Chaim Ramon to link Gaza with Judea and Samaria by means of a land passage under Arab control. Party MK Yisrael Hason has called for an agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) to stipulate that an international authority replace the PA if it cannot meet its current obligations under the existing Oslo Accords and subsequent agreements.

Residents of the Shomron town of Elon Moreh have accused extreme-left activists of deliberately damaging Arab property in order to create conflict. They also say Yediot Acharonot and its associated website Ynet have refused to correct their libel. Benny Katzover, a senior founder of Elon Moreh, spoke with Arutz-7 and recounted the events leading up to what he says were attempts by left-wing activists to sully Jewish residents' good names and create conflict with the neighboring Arab village.

The village in question, Dir el-Hattab, was hooked up to the Israeli water utility thanks to Katzover's own initiative as mayor of Elon Moreh. Recently, Jewish youth who refurbished a park area within Elon Moreh's municipal boundaries set up a small pool, connected to the water line leading to the village. The pool did not disrupt the flow of water to the village until somebody began cutting the pipe flowing toward the village.

A resident of the town recently photographed leftists as they damaged a water pipe leading to a nearby Arab village. Elon Moreh residents argue that the leftists were hoping to lead the Arabs to think that their Jewish neighbors were destroying their water supply.

After destroying the pipe, residents said, the leftists reported the incident to the Yediot Acharonot newspaper, which published an article accusing the Jews of Elon Moreh of harassing local Arabs and stealing their water. "They were more than happy to publish a half-page story on how we abuse our neighbors, without an ounce of research," Katzover said. He added that the leftists were led by Kibbutz Movement Chairman Yoel Marshak, infamous for his involvement in claims that Arab olive trees were destroyed by Jews, when in fact they had been pruned by their owners and left-wing activists.

An Arab man quoted in the article was not even from the village of Dir el-Hattab to which the water in the pipe flows, one resident of Elon Moreh explained, but rather from the hostile village Kfar Salam. Yediot Acharonot ignored complaints from Elon Moreh, he said, and did not change the article even after receiving photographs of the leftists damaging the pipe.

Caroline Glick & Mark Levin: The Israeli Solution -- A One-State Pla

Why Israel Opposes International Forces in the Jordan Valley

U.S. scholars' group votes in favor of academic boycott of Israel

Yet another indication of the absolute corruption of American academia today. "US scholars' group votes in favor of academic boycott of Israel," from the Jerusalem Post, December 16: NEW YORK – The 5,000-member American Studies Association (ASA), which describes itself as “the nation’s oldest and largest association devoted to...http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/12/us-scholars-group-votes-in-favor-of-academic-boycott-of-israel.html

Israel Living Prophecy

A senior New Israel Fund officer told a U.S. official in 2010 that the disappearance of the Jewish state would not be a tragedy, according to a document that was leaked by Wikileaks...She commented that she believed that in 100 years Israel would be majority Arab and that the disappearance of a Jewish state would not be the tragedy that Israelis fear since it would become more democratic.

Mideast expert Michael Widlanski: Fatah is a joke

US-Israeli talks focus on Ahmadinejad's possible ouster

How to exploit the deep cracks forming in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration for removing the Iranian president was a top item on the agenda of the high-level talks between Barack Obama's advisers and Israeli officials at Mossad headquarters in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, Wednesday, July 29.

DEBKAfile's Iranian sources report that Ahmadinejad's cabinet is falling apart; of his original lineup of 21 ministers, only nine remain at their posts.

The Identity Of The Land

Why the Palestinians need to recognize the Jewish State

We do NOT support a 2-state solution

A January 2009 poll found that Americans oppose creating a Palestinian state by 45-31 percent. A February 2009 Maagar Mohot Survey Institute poll has also shown that Israelis oppose creating a Palestinian state by 51-32 percent.

Many other polls tell a similar story.

These figures suggest that Americans and Israelis have understood that creating a Palestinian state under current conditions will not bring peace but merely another terror state.

Netanya,Israel

Jerusalem At Night

Why reconstruct Gaza without making demands

- that Shalit be release without convicted terrorists being released by Israel in exchange,

- that the US be put in charge of the southern border to ensure that Hamas isn’t rearmed?

- that their three preconditions be accepted by Hamas, i.e. agree to all former agreements,recognize Israel and renounce terror

- that Hamas amend their Charter

- That Hamas disconnect from Iran

The answer is that they don’t want to.

Children of Hamas

Picture of Hamas children the media does not show you

IDF: Civilian Deaths in Gaza Less than 25% of Total

A maximum of 25% of the Palestinians killed in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli operation are innocent civilians, the head of the IDF's Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA), Col. Moshe Levi, said Wednesday. According to Palestinian medical officials, Israel has killed some 1,000 Palestinians and more than half of them are civilians. Levi said the CLA had compiled a list with the names of 900 Palestinians killed during the fighting. He said that 150 names were of women, children and elderly, and that the maximum number of civilians killed so far was 250. Levi also dismissed claims that 43 Palestinians were killed in an IDF attack on a Hamas terror cell that was firing mortars at Israeli forces from within an UNRWA school in Jabalya. Levi said 21 Palestinians were killed in the attack, including a number of Hamas operatives. (Jerusalem Post)

Hamas teaching the children of Gaza

An Iranian reformist daily newspaper has criticized Hamas "for risking lives of civilians, amongst them children, by hiding its forces in nurseries and hospitals." This is reported in today's Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam. The Palestinian daily adds that in response the Iranian government has closed the newspaper.

"The Iranian news agency "Irna" reported yesterday, that the Iranian Culture Ministry has closed the reformist daily newspaper "Karjo Zaran", because it published a report that included criticism of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). On December 30 the paper published a statement of a reformist student organization, that has criticized Hamas for risking lives of civilians, amongst them children, by hiding its forces in nurseries and hospitals. The statement was published whilst the Iranian government expresses a unified stands against Israel, and Tehran is overwhelmed by demonstrations against Israel."

[Al-Ayyam, Jan. 1, 2009] Thanks PMW

Iran-backed Hamas Rocket, Mortar Attacks and Nuclear Developments

9,400+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since 2003. [1]3,200+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza in 2008 alone. [2]6,500+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. [3]543+ rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into Israeli territory during the ceasefire from June 19 to Dec. 19, 2008. [4]28 deaths caused by rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into Israel since 2001. The dead include Israelis, Palestinians and foreign workers. Since the ceasefire ended, Iran-backed Palestinian groups in Gaza fired rockets and mortars that killed an Israeli-Arab construction worker and a mother of four who was seeking shelter in a bus station as a rocket warning siren sounded. [5]1,000+ people in Israel injured from rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since 2001, including Israelis, Palestinians and foreign workers. Since the ceasefire, 44 Israelis have been injured and 200 have been treated for shock. [6]Thanks Israel Project

It began with this...

The British Foreign Office, November 2nd, 1917Dear Lord Rothschild,I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.

“His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate theachievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities inPalestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.2

Signed,Arthur James Balfour[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs]

Favorite Books

While Europe Slept

About Me

Semi-retired Professor, now also permanent resident of Israel;divides time between both countries-serves on several Boards of Directors for Israel advocacy groups;Chana, resident of Jerusalem, JCPA member

Syria is an Occupier-Are You Listening World?

As of this minute, Syria occupies at least 177 square miles of Lebanese soil. That you are now reading about it for the first time is as much a scandal as the occupation itself.

The news comes by way of a fact-finding survey of the Lebanese-Syrian border just produced by the International Lebanese Committee for UN Security Council Resolution 1559, an American NGO that has consultative status with the UN. In meticulous detail - supplemented by photographs and satellite images - the authors describe precisely where and how Lebanon has been infiltrated.

Though the land grabs are small affairs individually, they collectively add up to an area amounting to about 4% of Lebanese soil - in U.S. terms, the proportional equivalent of Arizona. Of particular note is that the area of Syrian conquest dwarves that of the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms which amount to an area of about 12 square miles.

It would be nice to see the Arab world protest this case of illegal occupation, given its passions about the subject.

Information worth Possessing

"Israel gave the Palestinians an autonomy in 42% of the West Bank and Gaza after the Oslo accords in the early 90's. Over 92% of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza were then under the administration of the Palestinian Authority and its Chairman Yasser Arafat.

"Israel is surrounded by 10 hostile Arab countries who do not even recognize its right to exist ( Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Algeria, Lybia, Morocco, Tunisia, Aden) and Iran"